Panayoti Kelaidis, senior curator at the Denver Botanic Gardens and an evangelist for plants adapted to steppe ecosystems, describes such climactic hiccups as a lesson for Front Range newcomers. “The only reason one would panic is one is fresh to Colorado. This is par for the course, and we should learn to expect it. The plants we should be growing love this sort of thing.”

“There’s not that much right now to worry about with the exception of some of the fruit trees. The peaches are in bloom; apples are not; ornamental pears are. Some of the peaches and some of the plums and cherries might not produce as much,” said Alison O’Connor, horticulture agent for Colorado State University Extension. “Eh, you know? We get this,” she added.

What’s a gardener to do?

• Perennials: If you moved the mulch completely off of them, you might want to move it back, O’Connor said.

• Trees: If we get more than 4 inches of snow, branches could break (remember last October?). Gently broom off snow loads, Kelaidis said.

• “If you went crazy and put out your warm-season stuff, you might want to bring it in,” O’Connor said. That includes vegetable starts or other less-cold-hardy young plants bought on the balmy weekend. If you really lost your mind and planted tomatoes in water-cell protectors, cover them, Kelaidis says, and remember the lesson next year.

• Finally, take advantage. “It’s still a good time to think about getting peas, onions, potatoes in the ground,” O’Connor said.

On the ornamental side, Pansies, snapdragons and iceland poppies are among many species that will love this cold (and hopefully wet) spell, Kelaidis suggested. “They’re alpine plants. The thing to remember is that plants have evolved in this kind of climate.” The same goes for many bulbs.

“This cool snap is perfect,” he said. “It’s slowing things down so we can enjoy the flowers for more than a few days.”